Pessary



UNITED STATES NT orion.

FRANCIS F. W'ELLS, OF TEXANA, TEXAS.

PESSARY.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 27,491, dated March 13, 18x60.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, F RANCIS F. VELLS, of Texana, in the county of Jackson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pessaries; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specication, in which- Figure l, represents a perspective view of the pessary. F ig. 2, represents a longitudinal vertical section through the pessary, in one of its positions. Fig. 3, represents a similar longitudinal section through the pessary, in another of its positions. Fig. 4t, represents a section through the ring or pad, to show the manner of connecting it to the frame of the pessary.

Similar letters of reference where they occuil in the several figures, denote like parts of the pessary in all of them.

My invention consists in the manner in which I hinge the ring, to the tube that constitutes the main frame or support of the pessary, and combine with said ring and tube, a lever by which the ring is turned on, or held fixed to, the tube, as may be required. And my invention further consists in the manner of securing the pad or ring, to the frame, by means of the recesses in the ring, and the swinging button, on the bell crank lever which connects the ring and framethe object being to attach, and de tach the ring readily.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to de scribe its construction and operation, in connection with the drawings.

A represents a tube, or hollow rod, to a slot in the upper end of which is pivoted one end of a short arm or lever a, and to the outer end of this lever a, is pivoted one end of a bell cranked lever l), whose long arm is pivoted to a rod c, of -the form shown in the drawing, and which rod passes down through the tube or hollow rod A, and thence curves into the form of the portion B, of the main stem, frame, or support, so that said curved portion will lie snug against the stem B, and allow a sleeve or boss (l, to slip over both to hold them firmly together. The stem B, is hinged at c to the lower end of the tube A, so that it may swing away from the curved rod c, and allow said rod to be freely worked through the tube.

Near the end of the stem B, which is most remote from the tube, is hinged or pivoted a bolt or clasp f, by which the plate C, is secured to the stem or removed therefrom as occasion may require. This bolt or clasp f, has projections z' upon it which take under the hasps m; and in rear of the clasp there is a pivoted brace n., with a controlling spring 0 acting against it, which prevents the clasp from slipping back or coming out. The object of the hinged joint r, which is a rule-joint is that the wearer when straightening up or even bending backward, may not feel any inconvenience from the pessary-the rule joint limits the extent to which the plate and ring may move from each other.

On the bell-crank shaped lever there is pivoted a button s, for holding' the ring D, to said lever as follows: A recess is made in the under side of the ring D, into which the levers a, o can enter, and when they are properly placed therein the button s, which hitherto was parallel with the long arm of the lever b, is turned around at right angles thereto, and catching under projections in said recess, it holds the ring and lever firmly together, while they may be readily detached for any purpose when required.

The plate C, may be padded in any suitable manner, and furnished with bands Suitable for holding the instrument firmly to the person of the user.

The manner of applying the pessary to the person of the user is as follows: The sleeve CZ, as shown in Fig. 3, having been slipped down, and the stem B, swung out of the way, the lever c is drawn down through the tube A, until the ring D, is parallel with the tube. In this position the ring is inserted through the vagina, and when in proper position, the lever c, is forced up through the tube which again turns the ring D, into the position shown in Fig. 2, and the sleeve (Z is run onto it and onto the stem B, to hold it firmly in that position. The pessary being thus applied to the patient the stem B, is next connected to the plate C, by the bolt f, and lastly the bands or other fastenings connected to the plate C, or its pad, are secured around the body, and the whole instrument is in its proper position. To remove it from the body of the patient the foregoing manipulations are reversed.

I believe I have the most perfect instrument for the cure or relief of prolapsus uteri, that is known. It is cheap, simple, and elicient, but of course its genuine merits can only be ascertained by professional gelb tlemen7 with Whom I am free to commit it. And though this instrument has in it many of the elements 0i that patented to me 0n the 22d Feby 1859, yet its eXtreme sim plicity must give it a decided preference over the prior one.

Having thus fully described the nature and object of my invention What I claim in the construction of pessaries is:

l. The particular manner of hinging the ring` to the tube and to the lever e passing through said tube7 so that the said ring may be readily turned on the tube, and firmly F. F. W ELLS.

Witnesses A. B. STOUGHTON, E. COHEN. 

